Atkins won’t host ACH rodeoATKINS — The City Council was very disappointed to hear Tuesday night that the Atkins Riding Club voted not to host its annual Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) Rodeo and Fireworks Show in 2016. Atkins Mayor Jerry Don Barrett said Lewis Schmoll addressed the council and talked about the “perils” of the riding club. The mayor noted city and county contractors have worked in improvements at the Atkins Riding Arena that were about 65 percent com...

Community photo: New Central Fire Station for RussellvilleFire Chief John Cochran (pictured) and Captain Brad Barnhouse visited Russellville Lions Club to talk about the new Central Fire Station for Russellville. The city has grown, and the central station lacks office space and no longer meets the needs of living space for the firemen. The $6.5 million facility on South El Paso Avenue will include large bays for fire trucks on the ground floor, provide living space (sleeping space, bathrooms and din...

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THE COURIER / SubmittedThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Sand Lizards seeking spot as state champsDARDANELLE — The Dardanelle Sand Lizards soccer team came up short in the 2015 Class 4A State Tournament after going undefeated in the regular season. The Sand Lizards won 16 straight games but lost when it mattered most — to the Central Arkansas Christian Mustangs in the semifinals of the state tournament. It’s a wrong this year’s team aims to amend. “I feel the same way the kids feel, like they’ve got something to accomplish,” Dardanelle hea...

Community invited to attend MLK Jr. Day events at ATUArkansas Tech University will commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2016 with a series of events from Saturday through Wednesday, Jan. 20. The celebration will begin with a day of service on Saturday. Arkansas Tech will host a “The Pack Shack” event with a goal of packing more than 25,000 meals for the food insecure from 9 a.m.-noon in the W.O. Young Building Ballroom. All students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the university are inv...

Web portal hopes to end recidivismFormer jail and prison inmates in Arkansas will now have a better chance at earning jobs and receiving the services they need to avoid becoming repeat offenders. Arkansas Community Correction (ACC) launched a new web portal on Wednesday called The Good Grid, which helps those who've been incarcerated connect with more than 10,000 local service providers through a public search directory. Various food assistance and substance abuse treatment pr...

Very well mannered studentsLondon Elementary School fourth graders participated Tuesday in their Good Manners Lunch to put to the test what they’ve been recently learning. Students began their lessons by brainstorming what they believed good manners to be, watched a 1951 manners video on YouTube to see how manners haven’t changed much over the years, learned the correct way to set a table and what each utensil is used for, appropriate conversations at the table and how ...

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THE COURIER / Joshua MashonThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Community photo: Veterans Memorial ParkKiwanis President Billy Cockrill (from left) is pictured with Bill Eaton and Russ Hall. Eaton and Hall presented a program on the proposed new Veterans Memorial that will be located at Bona Dea Trail. Eaton holds a memorial tile that will be placed alongside the walking trails that will surround the memorial. The tiles can be purchased to honor a loved one’s service to our country.

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THE COURIER / SubmittedThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Mobile Vet Center to visit RussellvilleUpdate: Because of a wreck on the interstate near Mayflower, the MVC will not arrive to the Russellville Walmart until 1 p.m. and will stay as long as veterans need. The Little Rock Vet Center will conduct a Mobile Vet Center (MVC) office visit from 10 a.m. to to p.m. today in the Walmart parking lot in Russellville as a way to reach veterans in the Arkansas River Valley. According to Thomas Norman, liaison between county Veteran Service Offic...

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BY PATRICIA SPEARS pspears@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Powerball sales ‘through the roof’ in RussellvilleA sign hangs on the door to PDQ South in Russellville — a hastily written black scrawl that reads: “All lottery must be paid for in cash.” Lottery tickets have always been “cash-only,” but PDQ manager Tammy Brock said she was forced to hang the sign due to the influx of new patrons purchasing Powerball tickets in the hope of winning the $1.5 billion dollar jackpot tonight. “We’ve had a lot of new people playing,” she said. “People who have nev...

Powerball sales ‘through the roof’ in RussellvilleA sign hangs on the door to PDQ South in Russellville — a hastily written black scrawl that reads: “All lottery must be paid for in cash.” Lottery tickets have always been “cash-only,” but PDQ manager Tammy Brock said she was forced to hang the sign due to the influx of new patrons purchasing Powerball tickets in the hope of winning the $1.5 billion dollar jackpot tonight. “We’ve had a lot of new people playing,” she said. “People who have nev...

Community photo: Proton Therapy Center visits Kiwanis ClubVickie Weigel (right) of Proton Therapy Center in Oklahoma City is pictured with Kiwanian Bob Sykes, who recently underwent proton therapy for cancer in Oklahoma City. Proton therapy is an advanced form of radiation therapy that destroys cancer cells by preventing them from dividing and growing—the same as with standard X-ray radiation. Proton therapy uses protons—positively charged atomic particles — instead of the photons used in standard X-...

Day of celebration coming up• MLK Bridgingthe Gap March The Pink Rose Arts and Civics Club will host the 16th annual Celebration of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Saturday. The event will begin with donuts, coffee and guest speakers at 9 a.m. on Saturday at the New Prospect Missionary Baptist Church, located at 321 South Houston Place in Russellville. This will be followed by the “Bridge the Gap” March, which begins at 10:15 a.m. and goes from the church to the Hughe...

Lettter to the editor: Don't forget to let fire trucks passDon’t forget to let fire trucks pass A fire truck, with sirens blaring and lights flashing, had a difficult time getting to the emergency at 8 a.m. this morning (Jan. 12). I was traveling south on South Arkansas Avenue when I noticed a fire truck approaching behind me. I signaled and pulled over to let the truck pass. I had to follow the truck for a few blocks, and those poor firemen had such a tough time getting where they were going! They ha...

CPD rolls out ‘most wanted' listCLARKSVILLE — The Clarksville Police Department rolled out a “Top 10 Most Wanted” on its website and Facebook page on Friday. Clarksville public information officer Larry Boggs said the site has had around 2,300 hits since the release of the top 10 list. “So far, so good,” Boggs said. “So far the response has been pretty good, I think.” Boggs said the department put together the most wanted list to help citizens identify and be aware of the in...

Community photo: PTA sock deliveryStudents in the Arkansas Tech University-Ozark Campus Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) program delivered socks in December to the Ozark Nursing Home. This is the third year the PTA students have participated in this community service project. Pictured are Jacob Evans (left) of Elkins, Gabe Limon of London, Ark., Casey Hanson of Russellville, Pam Williams of Branch, Ark. and Cory Keefe of Russellville.

Herrick a natural choice for Parks, RecNote: This is one in a series of articles introducing new Russellville commission members and city employees to our readers. Theresa Herrick has been a professor of Recreation and Parks Administration at Arkansas Tech University for three decades. She served as a member of the Advertising and Promotion Commission for eight years, volunteered for River Valley United Way and wrote the city of Russellville’s trail plan in 2010. So it’s only natur...

Bridge results (Jan. 11, 2016)Monday Duplicate Bridge met on Jan. 2 at the Russellville Senior Wellness and Activity Center. The first place North/South winners were Paula Hall and Teressa Robinson. The second place North/South winners were Doug Lowrey and Dale Lassiter. The first place East/West winners were Carole Barton and Vernon Collins. The second place East/West winners were Kathy Bowden and Ann Chronister. The next game will be at 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 18, at the Russ...

University of Ozarks awards Heffley scholarshipShantanna Heffley, a senior at Deer High School (DHS), has been awarded a Commitment to Excellence Scholarship to attend University of the Ozarks (U of O), beginning in the Fall 2016 Semester. Heffley is the daughter of Travis and Loreshia Heffley of Pelsor. She plans to major in biology at U of O. At DHS, she was a member of BETA, FBLA and Skills USA. She was also recognized for maintaining a 4.0 GPA. The Commitment to Excellence Scholarship ...